Wal-Mart's Bad Flag Etiquette

I was at the Eastchase Super Wal-Mart today in East Fort Worth to witness another badly abused American flag on display here in Texas. The previous incident was at my nearby U.S. Post Office.

I took several photos of the Wal-Mart flag. When I got back to my vehicle a strange thing happened. A large woman in a large car drove up to me, rolled down her window and started yelling at me, asking why I was taking pictures of her. It was oddly reminiscent of a YouTube video I posted some time back. The large woman in the large car ended her diatribe by taking a photo of me. It was all very unsettling.

Back to the bad Wal-Mart flag. This is what I found when Googling about Flag Etiquette...

"If the edges become tattered through wear, the flag should be repaired or replaced. When a flag is so tattered that can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning. The American Legion and other organizations regularly conduct dignified flag-burning ceremonies, often on Flag Day, June 14."

Now, I'm not some sort of fanatic about flags. I don't care one way or the other is someone wears a flag pin. But if you're gonna fly the flag it seems really tacky to me to fly one that is all torn up, blowing tattered in the wind, as if it'd been pummelled in a war zone. Wal-Mart should be ashamed. About this bad flag thing too.

United States Flag and Religion Day

I've had me a day so far. I'm sort of recovering from pedaling 20 miles yesterday and ending up with my first bad sunburn in a long time.

I thought a nice peaceful non-hilly walk would do my aching aging bones good. About 3 miles from my abode there is a nice park called Indian Village Park. So named because before the invaders ran them out of their town it was the site of one of the biggest Indian Villages on the continent.

But, before getting to Indian Village I had to go to the Post Office. And was surprised to see the state of the flag waving in the wind. That's it in the photo. This was at the Handley Post Office. Aren't there some rules and regulations regarding displaying a flag? Or maybe this tattered flag has some significance of some sort.

I'd not been to Indian Village in quite a while. It's the time of year when it's a lush jungle, with really big trees. I saw my first armadillos in a long long time, 2 little ones. My last armadillo sighting was a couple years ago at River Legacy Park when in one day I saw 3 separate sets of baby armadillos. I used to see armadillos at River Legacy all the time, but ever since a huge flood a couple years ago I've seen no armadillos and way fewer snakes.

Right after I saw the armadillos I saw this older lady in a moo-moo heading towards me. She asked if I'd seen 3 boys with fishing poles. I said no, but I just saw 2 armadillos.

She asked if I walked here often. I said no. She asked what parks I go to. She liked learning that River Legacy now has a mountain bike trail. She said something about praying about the blessing of taking her kids walking at River Legacy.

And then she asked if she could give me her testimony. This is only the second time this has happened to me in the Buckle of the Bible Belt. The other time was Gar the Texan giving me his religious testimony. But his was of a different sort, I suspect, than the type testimony the moo-moo lady wanted to give me.

I indicated I did not want to hear her testimony. She then asked if she could say one verse to me. I said okay. She then said that bible verse you hear all the time that goes something like "God sacrificed his son so anyone who believed in him would have everlasting life." I wanted to ask what sort of father would do such a thing? And if Jesus didn't really die and was back alive and in heaven 3 days after being murdered, then, really, where is the sacrifice? And why does believing this somehow give you everlasting life?

As I started to walk away the moo-moo lady insisted I take two little pamphlets. One is called "THIS WAS YOUR LIFE." The other is "DO YOU KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE AND THAT YOU WILL GO TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU DIE!"

That second one is disturbing for asking a question, but ending the sentence with an exclamation point.

I thought I'd made my escape, quickly crossing the bridge. But the moo-moo lady started hollering at me, something about a bird. So, I turned around and headed back towards her. She was pointing at something, but all I saw was a turtle. And then the bird appeared. It was very exotic looking. I'd not seen one before. Then the bird flew away. I started thinking the moo-moo lady has strange powers.

She then told me she'd seen a mountain lion just ahead. She said people didn't believe her. I told her I believed her because I've seen one too. She pointed to a bench and said that's where it happened, that she was kneeling and praying and looked up from her praying to see a mountain lion 6 feet away. She started screaming "Save me Jesus." The mountain lion backed away.

The moo-moo lady went home and called the police. Animal control was sent. They found signs of a mountain lion. Later that day a Dallas news helicopter got footage of the mountain lion near River Legacy Park. I remember when this was in the news.

The moo-moo lady was really easy to listen to with a classic lilting Texas accent. If only she didn't mix in that religious stuff.